Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Multimodal imaging brain markers in early adolescence are linked with a physically active lifestyle

Salvan, Piergiorgio; Wassenaar, Thomas; Wheatley, Catherine; Beale, Nicholas; Cottaar, Michiel; Papp, Daniel; Bastiani, Matteo; Fitzgibbon, Sean; Duff, Euguene; Andersson, Jesper; Winkler, Anderson M.; Douaud, Gwena�lle; Nichols, Thomas E.; Smith, Stephen; Dawes, Helen; Johansen-Berg, Heidi

Multimodal imaging brain markers in early adolescence are linked with a physically active lifestyle Thumbnail


Authors

Piergiorgio Salvan

Thomas Wassenaar

Catherine Wheatley

Nicholas Beale

Michiel Cottaar

Daniel Papp

Matteo Bastiani

Sean Fitzgibbon

Euguene Duff

Jesper Andersson

Anderson M. Winkler

Gwena�lle Douaud

Thomas E. Nichols

Stephen Smith

Helen Dawes

Heidi Johansen-Berg



Abstract

© 2021 Salvan et al. The World Health Organization promotes physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle as means to improve youth development. However, relationships between physical lifestyle and human brain development are not fully understood. Here, we asked whether a human brain-physical latent mode of covariation underpins the relationship between physical activity, fitness, and physical health measures with multimodal neuroimaging markers. In 50 12-year old school pupils (26 females), we acquired multimodal whole-brain MRI, characterizing brain structure, microstructure, function, myelin content, and blood perfusion. We also acquired physical variables measuring objective fitness levels, 7 d physical activity, body mass index, heart rate, and blood pressure. Using canonical correlation analysis, we unravel a latent mode of brain-physical covariation, independent of demographics, school, or socioeconomic status. We show that MRI metrics with greater involvement in this mode also showed spatially extended patterns across the brain. Specifically, global patterns of greater gray matter perfusion, volume, cortical surface area, greater white matter extra-neurite density, and resting state networks activity covaried positively with measures reflecting a physically active phenotype (high fit, low sedentary individuals). Showing that a physically active lifestyle is linked with systems-level brain MRI metrics, these results suggest widespread associations relating to several biological processes. These results support the notion of close brain-body relationships and underline the importance of investigating modifiable lifestyle factors not only for physical health but also for brain health early in adolescence.

Citation

Salvan, P., Wassenaar, T., Wheatley, C., Beale, N., Cottaar, M., Papp, D., …Johansen-Berg, H. (2021). Multimodal imaging brain markers in early adolescence are linked with a physically active lifestyle. Journal of Neuroscience, 41(5), 1092-1104. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1260-20.2020

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 10, 2020
Online Publication Date Jan 12, 2021
Publication Date Feb 3, 2021
Deposit Date Oct 23, 2020
Publicly Available Date Jul 13, 2021
Journal Journal of Neuroscience
Electronic ISSN 1529-2401
Publisher Society for Neuroscience
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 41
Issue 5
Pages 1092-1104
DOI https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1260-20.2020
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4986049
Publisher URL https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2021/01/05/JNEUROSCI.1260-20.2020
Additional Information Salvan, P., Wassenaar, T., Wheatley, C., Beale, N., Cottaar, M., Papp, D., Bastiani, M., Fitzgibbon, S., Duff, E., Andersson, J., Winkler, A. M., Douaud, G., Nichols, T. E., Smith, S., Dawes, H., & Johansen-Berg, H. (2021). Multimodal Imaging Brain Markers in Early Adolescence Are Linked with a Physically Active Lifestyle. The Journal of Neuroscience, 41(5), 1092–1104. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.1260-20.2020

Files





Downloadable Citations